Burger King to J-Hud: Free Burgers for Life!

Hudson reacted to Simon Cowell's criticism of her for not thanking "American Idol" in her Oscar speech. She reportedly snapped back, "If I'd been any better at my job when I was at Burger King in my middle teens, I wouldn't be here either, so should I thank them, too?" Hudson worked at the BK on East 87th and State Street in Chicago. Burger King was her first job at age 16, where she worked with her sister, who claims she sang while working the drive-thru and flipping burgers.

In an exclusive statement to TMZ, Burger King responded to Hudson's beef, assuring her that no thanks is necessary, and awarded her with BK for life:

"...In response to Jennifer's recent comments in which she asked if she should be thanking Burger King, we say thanks, but no thanks are necessary. Burger King Corporation is proud of Jennifer's success and while we never like to lose employees, in this case, our loss is the entertainment industry's gain ... To further show our support for Jennifer, and make sure she never has to sing for her supper again, Burger King Corporation is giving her a pre-paid BK Crown Card that will be automatically reloaded for life."